12 Month Change in State Unemployment Rates click here to view map

• In September, 2009 the national unemployment rate stood at 9.8%, an increase of a tenth of a percent from the month before.
• The national unemployment rate has increased 3.6 percent from September 2008
• Michigan again recorded the highest unemployment rate among the states, 15.3 percent, in September.
• The states with the next highest rates were Nevada, 13.3 percent; Rhode Island, 13.0 percent; and California, 12.2 percent.
• Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in September (-263,000) the largest job losses were in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and government.
• North Dakota continued to register the lowest jobless rate, 4.2 percent in September, followed by South Dakota, 4.8 percent, and Nebraska, 4.9 percent.